Manchester is continuing to up its game and open new restaurants constantly. When I heard that boutique hotel, Dakota was opening in Manchester’s Northern Quarter I was very excited to see what it was all about. Dakota is conveniently located only 5 minutes from Piccadilly station making it the perfect spot for anyone out of town to visit. I regularly eat out in the Northern Quarter and was intrigued to see what Dakota was all about. From the outside the hotel doesn’t look as though it would be anything special inside, but when you enter it is another world!

Grand Pacific has been around a few years now, housed in the renowned Grade II listed Manchester Reform Club building at the top of Manchester’s King Street. I visited back in 2017 when it was taken over by the Living Venture Group, you can read about my experience here, however this time I visited Grand Pacific as they have launched an amazing new menu with seasonal dishes to complement the Summer months. The restaurant dines approx 120 guests with beautiful interior design, opulent decor and an impressive bar inspired by Raffles Hotel in Singapore. The menu has plenty of choice for all tastes which includes both English classics and dishes with an exotic twist. Many of the dishes on the menu haven’t changed including the sushi bowl and the chicken skewers, just a few new additions to give it a refresh for the Summer.

If your looking for somewhere to relax and enjoy some tasty food with a view then look no further. The Second Floor Brasserie and Bar at Harvey Nichols in Manchester is the perfect place to spend your Sunday afternoon trying out the new summer menu which overlooks Cathedral gardens. The menu includes many fresh, locally sourced ingredients that are seasonal allowing for plenty of choice for all. For the appetizer we tried out the Indian poori flatbread, this was served with a tomato and onion chutney and coriander yoghurt. The flatbread was freshly baked and complimented by both the sweet and crunchy chutney and the light refreshing yoghurt.

20 stories is a recently opened restaurant and cocktail bar in the heart of Manchester, located on the 19th floor of No 1 Spinningfields. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but my first thoughts were maybe something quite pretentious and poncy, although it took me by surprise as it was none of those things at all. This place has a beautiful restaurant, a bar area and a very large rooftop terrace with a fabulous view of the city! The restaurant is headed up by chef Aiden Byrne serving modern British food. 20 Stories has something quite unique about it, the name represents different stories or titles which hint towards where the food or drink has come from or the people that have visited, not sure I fully understood this concept as I first read the message on the bread board, but later on in the evening as more stories were revealed it all made more sense. The menu is quite small, but does have a variety of both meat, fish and vegetarian dishes. We opted for the Sunday roast dinner with all the trimmings which was a great choice!